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Sam Simon diagnosed with terminal cancer

Very sad news, everybody, one of people who made the Simpsons the show we all love only has a few more months left to live

Howard Stern Show regular Sam Simon revealed Monday that doctors estimate he has only months to live now that the colorectal cancer he was diagnosed with in 2012 has now metastasized and spread to his other organs.

Simon revealed the grim news on Howard 100 reporter Jon Leiberman's weekday news show "Leiberman: Live at 5" on Howard 101. Simon said he was all ready to set sail with The Sea Shepherds to stop illegal Japanese whalers last year when doctors gave him the bad news.

"I had all my stuff ready to go for the adventure of my life, but instead I got a different kind of adventure...I’ve had the greatest life in the world. So, when it comes to talking about disappointments, they’re very high end disappointments, and there's not many of them, but this [missing the trip] would be the biggest one.”

Simon said that he got the cancer diagnosis about five months ago, when a doctor reluctantly estimated that he had three to six months to live.

"The diagnosis was--I was feeling bad for a couple years, and I was diagnosing myself from television talk shows, so I was taking antidepressants and I was trying to get my testosterone levels up...but then it turned out my primary cancer was colon cancer that had spread to my liver, kidneys, abdominal connective tissues and my lymph system and maybe my brain. They're not sure about that."

There was some speculation that he had cancer a week ago on another forum and given some of his tweets it seemed pretty clear.

Incredibly sad to hear that it's terminal. Here's hoping he can pull through, somehow. If there's one word to describe Sam it's "character"; writing his Wikipedia page was a joy and he's certainly led one hell of varied life. And no small part of that is helping to craft the greatest TV show ever.

Originally Posted by David Mirkin, 1995

I think at the end of the eighth season, we'll all have to sit down, make sure the show is still fresh. Make sure that's it's not repeating itself or falling into a formula and you know...It's very possible that we'll still have energy after eight seasons, but hopefully it will always be a decision of quality, to make sure we are not lowering the quality just to make a little bit more money.

Thank you for telling us about this, @Matty. There is a lot of pride Mr. Simon can take home from his accomplishments, and I hope he'll be able to spend the time with family and loved ones, without pain.

I hope to god he makes it through... he like many people was a one of a kind. He's the kind of person who's really done so much for not just his fans, but also for his friends, family, his three dogs. Remember not just that he was the co-developer of The Simpsons, but try to remember him as a unreplaceable person that brought laughter, friendly lessons, and joyous moments to many people throughout the world. Let's all hope the guy makes it through.

that's really sad news. he's had a pretty decent life though eh? put together and ran one of the greatest shows of all time, earns a mega fortune each year, does immense charity work for animal rights (which ought to be congratulated more than his work on the simpsons imo), and wiki says that he once married a playboy playmate!

what a life! if it's indeed terminal here's hoping that he goes out with as little pain as possible.

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He was vital in the production of The Simpsons and it probably wouldn't have existed without him. His name appears on every Simpsons episode ever alongside Matt Groening and James L Brooks, and he will remain immortal for exactly that even after he dies.

"'If you leave out Sam Simon,'' Jon Vitti says, ''you're telling the managed version. He was the guy we wrote for.'' Jay Kogen, a former producer at the show, agrees. ''Sam had this amazing conception of Springfield,'' he recalls. ''He kept expanding the idea. He knew the freedom that animation provides and utilized it to the full extent. The big story at the time was 'Cartoonist breaks through into TV.' It could also have been, just as easily, 'Old-time TV producer breaks through into TV.' ''